Books you've read in 2024

[Jocasta Clun]

I'm going to read OLD BABES IN THE WOOD

I know it's sniffed at to put content notes on things, but a heads up that this involves quite a lot of death and morbid chat would've been useful

Gave up after an hour, I sadly didn't care about the main characters and the lack of care for a content warning started to make me angry

 

[jyxz]

So the latest Maupin was a bit……..

Underwhelming

 

[Finn]

I'm back on the books:

In Memoriam by Alice Winn
Unlike Miss @jyxz this gets five stars from me. I was so invested in the plot, I loved how fabulously grizzly the depiction of war was (so many gruesome deaths!), the whole ensemble of characters worked beautifully for me, and there were so many times when Winn's prose knocked me for six. Loved the lead two, but Hayes was my MVP

Dreamland by Rosa Rankin-Gee
Three stars from me. I liked it overall but it sagged in the middle a bit, it does NOT have a satisfying end, and the stuff with the love interest felt both predictable and totally inessential compared to the more interesting stuff happening elsewhere. I've since seen it's being DONE FOR TELLY which I think is a good shout, as there are lots of thriller/social commentary elements that can be brought to the fore more to fit a more traditional tv series format. And I want to see the rundown Margate of the future flooded.

 

[SvalaWuzRobbed]

Small Things Like These is heartbreaking and nothing in it is superfluous. If you like Dan Jones and haven't already read it, I enjoyed David Mitchell's Unruly: A History of England's Kings & Queens. A lot of digression but it's refreshing how he goes into the SAXONS, and how insane the WARS OF THE ROSES were for dynastic drama

 

[Rowan Tree 🌳]

Books finished so far in 2024:

• Kala by Colin Walsh (really gripping - would recommend)
• The Cat Who Saved Books by Sôsuke Natsukawa (not my thing but it was fine, and good to try)
• The Little Liar by Mitch Albom (liked a lot, though tried one of his others and didn't get far)
• The Cut Out Girl by Bart van Es (great - sitting in my to read pile for years and revisited on a whim)
• Songbirds by Christy Lefteri (also really enjoyed - need to retry The Beekeeper of Aleppo now)
• Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan (brilliant)
• The Amusements by Aingeala Flannery (liked a lot)
• Room by Emma Donoghue (bit harrowing but v good)
• Lazy City by Rachel Connolly (local book that had a little dip in the middle, but I likes it a lot in the end)
• Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua (flew through it last week - funny and a great read)
• The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan (amazing)

About to start The Wonder by Emma Donoghue, and listening to When Broken Glass Floats by Chanrithy Him.

I'm also reading Christopher and His Kind (Isherwood) piece by piece, and really need to finish the second half of From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan, which I started at Christmas.

 

[Finn]

Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer
A sort of 'ET meets Grief Is The Thing With Feathers'. I thought it was basic tat for the first half (and badly written - with an inordinate amount of similes?), then it suddenly twisted to become really quite compelling for the bulk of the second half, before underwhelming me with a messy ending. THREE STARS, if I'm being generous.

 

[jyxz]

Isaac and the Egg by Bobby Palmer
A sort of 'ET meets Grief Is The Thing With Feathers'. I thought it was basic tat for the first half (and badly written - with an inordinate amount of similes?), then it suddenly twisted to become really quite compelling for the bulk of the second half, before underwhelming me with a messy ending. THREE STARS, if I'm being generous.

Another one I thought wasn’t much cop….. I think I gave it two stars on Goodreads

 

[jyxz]

View attachment 24129

I got this for Christmas @Jark

This has also turned out to be utter tosh

 

[RaspberrySwirl]

It’s been two slow reading months for me, but everything has been so good, especially Confessions of a Mask. I can’t recall any other novel covering the internal battle regarding your own sexuality as well as this one. Beautifully written too.

The Bell Jar started off really well then became a struggle but ended on a high. A bit like Catcher in the Rye, with which I had same reading experience.

The Secret History was such a joy, if not a bit too long. Any recommendations on similar stories?

 

[straightorbroken]

Really don't know where to put this, but something made me think of the non-fiction book about women in music called She Bop: The Definitive History of Women in Popular Music (1995) by Lucy O'brien. Has anyone read it/them? There was a first updated release in 1999 and its current fourth edition came in 2020.

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[disneyteletubby]

Impressive how many books some of you get through! I find I start more books than I ever finish; last fictional book I read (which wasn't a short picture book) was probably before lockdown.
After my assignments are complete, I'd like to get into some mystery/thriller, or some kind of old-fashioned storybooks.

 

[Rowan Tree 🌳]

I've been a bit rubbish this month.

Rereading Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and then I've got Foster by Claire Keegan in my bag. Need a good audiobook too.

 

[Suedehead]

Finally managed to read Brick Lane and I loved it

Currently reading Neverwhere (Neil says hi by the way)